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Mycoses

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Mycoses are infections that affect the skin and mucosa and are provoked by particular fungi (or mycetes) that proliferate in a warm damp environment. They appear with symptoms such as itching, burning, dryness and flaking or maceration of the skin and exudation; they are often recurrent, that is they tend to reappear after some time. Mycoses often affect the folds of the skin, where there is poorer ventilation.

This is the case of submammary intertrigo or inguinal intertrigo, or also“athlete’s foot” which affects the plantar region and/or the interdigital spaces of the foot and is favoured by hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating).

Frequent forms of mycosis are also those that affect the female genital apparatus and the area of the nipple during breast-feeding (the so-called rhagades of the breast are often caused by a Candidiasis infection, which may be passed to the infant in the form of “thrush” in the mucosa of the oral cavity). Another widespread form of mycosis is Pityriasis Versicolor, which appears with flaking patches of variable colour located on the trunk, in particular in the area of the back, neck and arms.

Although these infections are more common in people who practise sports, they may also affect other people. In particular they may be due to: heavy sweating, failure to observe simple rules of hygiene in very busy places (for example walking barefoot in hotel bedrooms, swimming pools, gymnasiums), use of clothing or shoes with poor breathability.

The main fungi responsible for mycoses of the skin can be subdivided into two categories: dermatophytes (responsible for “athlete’s foot”/Tinea Pedis) and yeasts (like the ones that cause Candidiasis and Pityriasis Versicolor).

ATHLETE’S FOOT: Athlete’s foot or Tinea Pedis is an infection that prevalently strikes people who very often wear shoes with rubber soles, which do not allow the foot to breath sufficiently. People who practise sports or who wear safety footwear at work are particularly subject to this type of infection.It is calculated that today athlete’s foot affects 15-30% of the population.

CANDIDIASIS: Candidiasis is an infection due to Candida Albicans, a fungus that is part of the normal microflora of the skin and that becomes pathogenic only when the equilibrium is broken between the aggressiveness of the fungus and the organism’s defence mechanisms. Candidiasis strikes the areas damaged by humidity, such as the folds of the armpits, the groin and the breasts, where the skin often remains damp during sports activity, and permanently in the dark. The skin becomes red and spotted and then begins to scale.

PITYRIASIS VERSICOLOR: Pityriasis versicolor is one of the most common mycoses. It is induced by oval Pityrosporum, a normal component of the skin microflora, present in 90-100% of adults. The infection appears only when favourable factors are involved and usually strikes young adults in good health. It is located mostly on the neck, the upper limbs and the upper part of the trunk, where it forms roundish patches that may be of different colours: light brown, yellow-brown, pink or non pigmented. They are characteristically transformed into pale patches after exposure to the sun.

CLOTHING: Among the factors that favour the onset of mycoses, one that is becoming more and more important is the use of clothing or shoes with poor breathability and with a poor hygroscopic capacity of absorbing humidity. The prolonged use of shoes with rubber soles, underwear made of elasticised microfiber, vests, shirts and trousers in synthetic or stretch fabrics, etc., create a warm-damp microclimate that is ideal for the uncontrolled growth of these microorganisms.

Thanks to its characteristics, DermaSilk® is a valid aid in both the treatment and prevention of mycoses: thanks to the efficacy of the permanent antimicrobial which controls the growth of all the main pathogenic fungi and yeasts, and thanks to the excellent breathing capacities and absorption of humidity of the special pure silk protein knitting process: